MOSFET with ultra low drain leakage

ABSTRACT

A semiconductor device includes a monocrystalline substrate configured to form a channel region between two recesses in the substrate. A gate conductor is formed on a passivation layer over the channel region. Dielectric pads are formed in a bottom of the recesses and configured to prevent leakage to the substrate. Source and drain regions are formed in the recesses on the dielectric pads from a deposited non-crystalline n-type material with the source and drain regions making contact with the channel region.

BACKGROUND

Technical Field

The present invention relates to semiconductor processing, and moreparticularly to devices and methods that grow source and drain regionson dielectric materials.

Description of the Related Art

Metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs) oftensuffer from performance loss due to carrier leakage. One of the majorleakage sources of MOSFET devices is drain-to-substrate leakage. Here,charge from the drain leaks into the substrate. This is made even moresevere when epitaxially grown layers (epilayers) have defects. Onemethod for addressing leakage into the substrate of the device is toprovide a buried oxide layer. In a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) structure,a buried oxide layer is disposed between a base (bulk) substrate and athin silicon layer. The devices are formed in the thin silicon layer,which is isolated from the base substrate by the buried oxide layer.Conventional source and drain regions are single-crystalline so theseregions cannot be grown on insulators such as oxide.

SUMMARY

A semiconductor device includes a monocrystalline substrate configuredto form a channel region between two recesses in the substrate. A gateconductor is formed on a passivation layer over the channel region.Dielectric pads are formed in a bottom of the recesses and configured toprevent leakage to the substrate. Source and drain regions are formed inthe recesses on the dielectric pads from a deposited non-crystallinen-type material with the source and drain regions making contact withthe channel region.

Another semiconductor device includes a III-V monocrystalline substratehaving a passivation layer formed thereon, the substrate beingconfigured to form a channel region between two recesses in thesubstrate, the recesses forming undercut regions in the substrate belowthe passivation layer. A gate conductor is formed on the passivationlayer over the channel region. Dielectric pads are formed in a bottom ofthe recesses between the undercut regions. The undercut regions are freefrom dielectric material of the dielectric pads. The dielectric pads areconfigured to prevent leakage to the substrate. Source and drain regionsare formed from ZnO, which is deposited in the recesses over thedielectric pads. The source and drain regions make contact with thechannel region.

A method for forming a transistor includes forming a passivation layeron a monocrystalline substrate; forming a gate conductor over a channelregion of the substrate; etching recesses in the substrate through thegate dielectric, the recesses extending below a portion of thepassivation layer in undercut regions; depositing a dielectric materialthat forms on the passivation layer, forms a gate cap material and formsdielectric pads in a bottom of the recesses; and forming source anddrain regions in the recesses on the dielectric pads from an n-typematerial with the source and drain regions making contact with thechannel region.

These and other features and advantages will become apparent from thefollowing detailed description of illustrative embodiments thereof,which is to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The disclosure will provide details in the following description ofpreferred embodiments with reference to the following figures wherein:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a partially fabricated transistordevice showing a passivation/gate dielectric layer formed on amonocrystalline substrate in accordance with the present principles;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the partially fabricated transistordevice of FIG. 1 showing a gate conductor patterned on thepassivation/gate dielectric layer and defining a position for a devicechannel region in accordance with the present principles;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the partially fabricated transistordevice of FIG. 2 showing recesses formed on opposite sides of the gateconductor, the recesses being formed underneath overhanging portions ofthe passivation/gate dielectric layer (undercut regions) and definingthe device channel region in accordance with the present principles;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the partially fabricated transistordevice of FIG. 3 showing a dielectric material deposited over thesurface of the device on the passivation/gate dielectric layer, andforming a gate cap dielectric on the gate conductor and formingdielectric pads on bottoms of the recesses but not underneath theoverhanging portions of the passivation/gate dielectric layer (undercutregions) in accordance with the present principles;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the partially fabricated transistordevice of FIG. 4 showing source and drain regions formed in the recessesand making contact on a sidewall with the device channel region (in theundercut region on one side of the recess) in accordance with thepresent principles; and

FIG. 6 is a block/flow diagram showing a method for forming a transistorin accordance with illustrative embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In accordance with the present principles, devices and methods areprovided that include forming devices with non-crystalline source anddrain regions on a substrate. In useful embodiments, a doped n-typematerial is deposited on a dielectric material such as an oxide to formsource/drain regions. The n-type material may include a II-VI material,such as zinc oxide (ZnO), indium tin oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide(IZO), etc. The n-type material may be employed in an amorphous orpolycrystalline state so that growth on a dielectric material ispossible.

In one embodiment, a substrate material may include a high performancebulk III-V substrate. Recesses are formed in the substrate, and adielectric layer is deposited in the recesses. Then, the n-type materialis deposited on the dielectric layer and appropriately doped to formsource and drain regions. The doping is preferably performed in-situ,e.g., using an atomic layer deposition (ALD) process. A channel regionis formed in the substrate and provides the performance advantages ofIII-V material with reduced (ultra low) or eliminated substrate leakage.In one embodiment, the n-type material includes aluminum doped ZnO witha polycrystalline or amorphous structure, which performs well as asource/drain material.

It is to be understood that the present invention will be described interms of a given illustrative architecture; however, otherarchitectures, structures, substrate materials and process features andsteps may be varied within the scope of the present invention.

It will also be understood that when an element such as a layer, regionor substrate is referred to as being “on” or “over” another element, itcan be directly on the other element or intervening elements may also bepresent. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directlyon” or “directly over” another element, there are no interveningelements present. It will also be understood that when an element isreferred to as being “connected” or “coupled” to another element, it canbe directly connected or coupled to the other element or interveningelements may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to asbeing “directly connected” or “directly coupled” to another element,there are no intervening elements present.

The present embodiments may be includes in a design for an integratedcircuit chip, which may be created in a graphical computer programminglanguage, and stored in a computer storage medium (such as a disk, tape,physical hard drive, or virtual hard drive such as in a storage accessnetwork). If the designer does not fabricate chips or thephotolithographic masks used to fabricate chips, the designer maytransmit the resulting design by physical means (e.g., by providing acopy of the storage medium storing the design) or electronically (e.g.,through the Internet) to such entities, directly or indirectly. Thestored design is then converted into the appropriate format (e.g.,GDSII) for the fabrication of photolithographic masks, which typicallyinclude multiple copies of the chip design in question that are to beformed on a wafer. The photolithographic masks are utilized to defineareas of the wafer (and/or the layers thereon) to be etched or otherwiseprocessed.

Methods as described herein may be used in the fabrication of integratedcircuit chips. The resulting integrated circuit chips can be distributedby the fabricator in raw wafer form (that is, as a single wafer that hasmultiple unpackaged chips), as a bare die, or in a packaged form. In thelatter case the chip is mounted in a single chip package (such as aplastic carrier, with leads that are affixed to a motherboard or otherhigher level carrier) or in a multichip package (such as a ceramiccarrier that has either or both surface interconnections or buriedinterconnections). In any case the chip is then integrated with otherchips, discrete circuit elements, and/or other signal processing devicesas part of either (a) an intermediate product, such as a motherboard, or(b) an end product. The end product can be any product that includesintegrated circuit chips, ranging from toys and other low-endapplications to advanced computer products having a display, a keyboardor other input device, and a central processor.

It should also be understood that material compounds will be describedin terms of listed elements, e.g., ZnO. These compounds includedifferent proportions of the elements within the compound, e.g., ZnOincludes Zn_(x)O_(1-x) where x is less than or equal to 1, etc. Inaddition, other elements may be included in the compound and stillfunction in accordance with the present principles. The compounds withadditional elements will be referred to herein as alloys.

Reference in the specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” ofthe present principles, as well as other variations thereof, means thata particular feature, structure, characteristic, and so forth describedin connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodimentof the present principles. Thus, the appearances of the phrase “in oneembodiment” or “in an embodiment”, as well any other variations,appearing in various places throughout the specification are notnecessarily all referring to the same embodiment.

It is to be appreciated that the use of any of the following “/”,“and/or”, and “at least one of”, for example, in the cases of “A/B”, “Aand/or B” and “at least one of A and B”, is intended to encompass theselection of the first listed option (A) only, or the selection of thesecond listed option (B) only, or the selection of both options (A andB). As a further example, in the cases of “A, B, and/or C” and “at leastone of A, B, and C”, such phrasing is intended to encompass theselection of the first listed option (A) only, or the selection of thesecond listed option (B) only, or the selection of the third listedoption (C) only, or the selection of the first and the second listedoptions (A and B) only, or the selection of the first and third listedoptions (A and C) only, or the selection of the second and third listedoptions (B and C) only, or the selection of all three options (A and Band C). This may be extended, as readily apparent by one of ordinaryskill in this and related arts, for as many items listed.

Referring now to the drawings in which like numerals represent the sameor similar elements and initially to FIG. 1, a partially fabricatedmetal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) device 10 isshown in accordance with the present principles. The device 10 includesa substrate 12 having a passivation/gate dielectric layer 14 formedthereon. The substrate 12 may include any suitable substrate material.In useful embodiments, the substrate 12 includes a III-V material (e.g.,InP, InGaAs, GaAs, etc.) or any other substrate material, e.g., Si,SiGe, SiC, Ge. In particularly useful embodiments, a III-V material isemployed to obtain high speed, high mobility transistors.

The formation of the passivation layer 14 depends on the substratematerial. In one embodiment, the substrate 12 includes InGaAs or GaAs.The passivation layer 14 may be formed by exposing the surface of thesubstrate 12 to activated sulfur (AS). The sulfur bonds to the substrate(Ga) to form the passivation layer. In another embodiment, amorphous Si(a-Si) may be formed on the surface of the substrate 12 and then exposedto activated sulfur to form the passivation layer 14. The passivationlayer 14 is further processed to form a gate dielectric for the device10. In one embodiment, the gate dielectric may include Al₂O₃ althoughother high-k dielectric materials may be employed. The Al₂O₃ of layer 14may be deposited by an atomic layer deposition (ALD) process. Layer 14is then subjected to a forming gas (FG) anneal process. Other processesmay be employed to form the passivation layer 14, e.g., other materials,formation processes, anneal processes, etc.

Referring to FIG. 2, a gate conductor 16 is formed on the passivationlayer 14. The gate conductor 16 may include any suitable material, withmetals being preferred. In one embodiment, the gate conductor 16includes Ti. The gate conductor 16 is deposited by, e.g., chemical vapordeposition (CVD), sputtering, evaporation, etc. In one embodiment, thegate conductor 16 illustratively includes Ti with a thickness of about100 nm. Other materials and thicknesses may be employed. The gateconductor 16 may be patterned using any lithographic patterningtechnique. In one embodiment, the gate conductor 16 is patterned using alift-off layer (LOL) gate lithography process.

The LOL process may include exposing and developing a resist (not shown)with the gate conductor pattern on the passivation layer 14. The resistis removed in the areas, where the target material is to be located,creating an inverse pattern. Target material (e.g., gate metal layer) isdeposited (on the whole surface of the wafer). This layer covers theremaining resist as well as parts that were cleaned of the resist in thedeveloping step. The resist is washed out together with parts of thetarget material covering it, only the material that was in the “holes”having direct contact with the underlying passivation layer 14 remains.

Referring to FIG. 3, source and drain windows 18 are formed in thesubstrate 12. A lithographic process is employed to form an etch maskfor etching the passivation layer/gate dielectric 14 and the material ofthe substrate 12. The etch process may include a dry etch process toopen the passivation layer 14 and then to etch the substrate 12. A sameetch process may be employed to etch both materials. In one embodiment,a reactive ion etch (RIE) is performed to open the passivation layer 14and then a separate etch process is performed to form recesses in thesubstrate 12. Recesses 18 preferably extend below the passivation layer14 under the gate conductor 16. The recesses 18 provide an exposedsurface 19, which will be employed to access a channel region 21 underthe gate conductor 16.

Referring to FIG. 4, the gate conductor 16 is resized to bettercorrespond with the channel region 21. A partial etch to the gateconductor 16 may be employed to reduce its thickness and width (e.g., Timay be reduced to a thickness of about 50 nm). This also provides spaceon the passivation layer 14 that forms a landing below the gateconductor 16. This space is employed to permit formation of a gate capdielectric 26 from a dielectric material 24 deposited over the device10. Since e.g., 50 nm of gate conductor 16 is removed, the gateconductor material 16 can be replaced by 50 nm of dielectric material26.

In one embodiment, the dielectric material 24 is formed by anevaporation process at about a 90 degree incidence (e.g., straight on(normal to the surface)). This forms the dielectric material 24 atbottoms (not sides) of the recesses 18. The dielectric material 24 beingdeposited forms pads 22 that clear the overhang of the passivation layer14 but do not form along sidewalls of the recesses 18. It should benoted that other angles of incidence may be employed to move a positionof the dielectric pads 22 within the recesses 18.

The dielectric material 24 is also formed as regions 20 on thepassivation layer 14. In addition, as described, the dielectric material24 covers the gate conductor 16 to form gate cap dielectric 26. Thedielectric material 24 may include an oxide, e.g., a silicon oxide,although other dielectric materials may be employed.

Referring to FIG. 5, a deposition process is employed to form source anddrain regions 30 of the device 10. The source and drain regions 30 areformed from an n-type material formed in the recesses 18. The n-typematerial may be deposited using a chemical vapor deposition, atomiclayer deposition (ALD), evaporation process or any other suitabletechnique. The n-type material preferably includes a II-VI material,such as ZnO, ZnS, ZnSe, CdS, CdTe, etc. In useful embodiments, then-type material includes ZnO, indium tin oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide(IZO), etc. In one particularly useful embodiment, the n-type materialincludes Al doped ZnO (ZnO:Al or AZO).

The n-type material is deposited in the recesses 18 to fill the recesses18 and to make contact with the surfaces 19 of the device channel region21. The n-type material forms over and buries dielectric pads 22. Then-type material fills below the overhang of the passivation layer 14into the recesses 18. The n-type material is formed over the gate capdielectric 26.

A lithographic technique is employed to mask the source and drainregions 30 and remove the n-type material from dielectric regions 20 andfrom the over the gate cap dielectric 26 using an etch process, e.g., awet or dry etch.

The formation of source and drain regions 30 from e.g., ZnO:Al, may beprovided using atomic layer deposition (ALD), although other processesmay be employed. This permits a doped layer with less surface damage. Inaccordance with the present principles, a range of n-doping in ZnO ofsource and drain regions 30 may be up to 2 atomic percent (e.g.,˜5×10²¹/cm³). ZnO dopants may include Al, B, Ga, In, etc., with ZnO:Albeing preferred. The carrier concentration (electron density) of thesource and drain regions 30 may be between about 1×10²¹ cm⁻³ to about5×10²¹ cm⁻³, and preferably about 3.0×10²¹ cm⁻³ for ZnO:Al (AZO).

The n-type material (e.g., ZnO:Al) for source and drain regions 30 maybe crystalline in form. This includes a monocrystalline structure andmay include a multi-crystal structure or other crystalline structure(micro, nano, etc.). However, the AZO material may also includeamorphous phases, which can be easily grown on or over dielectricmaterials (e.g., pads 22). In one embodiment, the ZnO of source anddrain regions 30 is amorphous.

Next, another lithography process may be employed to expose and etch thegate cap dielectric 26. A reactive ion etch (RIE) may be employed toremove the gate cap dielectric 26 over the gate conductor 16 butmaintain dielectric material 24 between the gate conductor 16 and thesource and drain regions 30.

Processing continues by providing electrical connections to the sourceand drain regions 30 and the gate conductor 16. The electricalconnections are preferably in the form of contacts 30 and metal lines(not shown), etc. For example, another lithography is employed to opencontact holes in a dielectric material (not shown) and deposit materialfor the contacts 32 on the source and drain regions 30. The contacts 30may include any suitable metal, e.g., W, Ti, Pd, Pt, Ag, Au, Cu, etc.

In accordance with the present principles, a field effect transistor 10is provided that employs deposited n-type II-VI material on dielectricmaterial (pads 22). The device leakage to the substrate is reduced(ultra low) or eliminated as a result of forming the source ad drainregions 30 on the dielectric pads 22. The source and drain regions 30make contact with the channel region 21 below the gate conductor 16. Thepads 22 prevent leakage down into the substrate 12. In accordance withthe present principles, the advantages of the high mobility devicechannel 21 are provided without loss of performance due to leakage tothe substrate 12. The present principles have been described inaccordance with a particular MOSFET design; however, other designs andstructures may also be employed.

Referring to FIG. 6, methods for forming a transistor are illustrativelyshown in accordance with the present principles. In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the blocks may occur out of theorder noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

In block 102, a passivation layer/gate dielectric layer is formed on amonocrystalline substrate. This may include depositing a high-Kdielectric material such as aluminum oxide, hafnium oxide, etc.Depending on the material, the surface of the substrate may bepassivated prior to forming the gate dielectric layer, e.g., using asulfur activation process or an a-Si deposition and sulfur activationprocess. The high-K dielectric material may be deposited using ALD andannealing the layer after formation.

In block 104, a gate conductor is formed over a channel region of thesubstrate. The gate conductor may include a metal, such as W, Ti, etc.The gate conductor may be patterned suing a lift-off layer lithographyprocess, although other patterning processes may be employed. In block106, recesses are etched into the substrate through the gate dielectric.The recesses extend below a portion of the passivation layer in undercutregions. The undercut region laterally extends further into thesubstrate than the passivation layer opening. The etching process mayinclude a RIE to open the passivation layer followed by isotropic wet ordry etch.

In block 108, a dielectric material is deposited on the passivationlayer, to form a gate cap material and to form dielectric pads in abottom of the recesses. In one embodiment, the n-type material isevaporated at a 90 degree incidence to prevent dielectric material fromforming on sidewalls of the recesses. The angle of incidence may beshifted +/−10 degrees or as needed.

In block 110, source and drain regions are formed in the recesses on thedielectric pads from a non-crystalline n-type material with the sourceand drain regions making contact with the channel region. In oneembodiment, the n-type material includes Al-doped ZnO. The n-typematerial is preferably deposited directly on the dielectric pads to formthe source and drain regions, e.g., by ALD. In one embodiment, then-type material includes an amorphous phase. Since the n-type materialdoes not need to have a crystalline structure, flexibility in devicefabrication is achieved.

In block 112, contacts and metallizations are formed to make electricalconnections to the source, drain and gate regions as needed. Processingcontinues to complete the device.

Having described preferred embodiments for MOSFET with ultra low drainleakage (which are intended to be illustrative and not limiting), it isnoted that modifications and variations can be made by persons skilledin the art in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to beunderstood that changes may be made in the particular embodimentsdisclosed which are within the scope of the invention as outlined by theappended claims. Having thus described aspects of the invention, withthe details and particularity required by the patent laws, what isclaimed and desired protected by Letters Patent is set forth in theappended claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A semiconductor device, comprising: amonocrystalline substrate configured to form a channel region betweentwo recesses in the substrate; a gate conductor formed on a passivationlayer over the channel region; dielectric pads formed in a bottom of therecesses and configured to prevent leakage to the substrate; and sourceand drain regions formed in the recesses on the dielectric pads from adeposited non-crystalline n-type material with the source and drainregions making contact with the channel region.
 2. The semiconductordevice as recited in claim 1, wherein the n-type material includes ZnO.3. The semiconductor device as recited in claim 2, wherein the ZnO isAl-doped.
 4. The semiconductor device as recited in claim 1, wherein thesource and drain regions extend over vertical sides of the dielectricpads.
 5. The semiconductor device as recited in claim 1, wherein thesource and drain regions extend above a surface of the substrate.
 6. Thesemiconductor device as recited in claim 1, wherein the n-type materialincludes an amorphous phase.
 7. The semiconductor device as recited inclaim 1, wherein the substrate includes a III-V materials and the sourceand drain regions include a II-VI material.
 8. The semiconductor deviceas recited in claim 1, wherein the source and drain regions extend belowthe passivation layer on sides of the recesses.
 9. A semiconductordevice, comprising: a III-V monocrystalline substrate having apassivation layer formed thereon, the substrate being configured to forma channel region between two recesses in the substrate, the recessesforming undercut regions in the substrate below the passivation layer; agate conductor formed on the passivation layer over the channel region;dielectric pads formed in a bottom of the recesses between the undercutregions, the undercut regions being free from dielectric material of thedielectric pads, the dielectric pads being configured to prevent leakageto the substrate; and source and drain regions formed from ZnO depositedin the recesses over the dielectric pads, the source and drain regionsmaking contact with the channel region.
 10. The semiconductor device asrecited in claim 9, wherein the ZnO is Al-doped.
 11. The semiconductordevice as recited in claim 9, wherein the source and drain regionsextend over vertical sides of the dielectric pads.
 12. The semiconductordevice as recited in claim 9, wherein the source and drain regionsextend above a surface of the substrate.
 13. The semiconductor device asrecited in claim 9, wherein the ZnO includes an amorphous phase.
 14. Thesemiconductor device as recited in claim 9, wherein the source and drainregions extend below the passivation layer in the undercut regions.